The Series on St. Francis 54 oils were painted in Cuzco between 1668 and 1684 according to information given on the canvases which were commissioned by the Franciscan monastery in Santiago. This series is the most important sequence of colonial art to be found in Chile, and the best preserved in South America.

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Author
They are attributed to the workshop of the Indian Basilio de Santa Cruz, a reasonable assumption as it is a replica of a series in the Franciscan monastery in Cuzco which is definitely his work.
From his workshop in Cuzco he oversaw art commissions being produced for Santiago by his numerous pupils, among whom are Juan Zapaca Inga and Pedro Lonasco or Lorenzo, who signed the painting "The Saint Punishes Disobedience.
These paintings tell the story of the life of St. Francis with a wealth detail appropriate to Cuzco in the 17th century. There is a symbolic search for parallels between the life of St. Francis and that of Jesus. Each painting has a writter annotation on its theme, in the Spanish of that period. The objective is to spread the Franciscan doctrine, rather than as a historical record: to show how St. Francis loved God and the poor in his transition from a luxurious childhood to a life of ever-increasing asceticism and poverty.
These are picturesque anecdotes taken literally from the Franciscan chronicles, the Apocryphal Gospels, and the mestizo poets, emphasizing miracles where saints, angels and men live together. Styles are based on Flemish works - a very important element of composition - on the Italian mannerist style and on Spanish painting, with the indigenous artists introducing their own feelings and idiosyncrasies, resulting in a product which is quite different from European works. The artists of Cuzco reflect the character of colonial society, at once ingenuous and austere. One observes the local touches - the faces, clothes, landscape and architecture - accompanied by a goal which is mystic and didactic, revealing the culture of Spanish-American society in the I7th and 18th centuries.

His Biografy
St. Francis was born in Assis, in ltaly, in 1182. The only son of rich parents, he received an excellent education in accordance with his social position. His own life epitomized the fundamental Christian virtures: faith and charity. St. Francis was in love with God and with mankind. His ideal was to appear like Christ upon the Cross.
He was a gentle man who sought simplicity. He looked at God and loved Him. It was said of him "This man is your brother, and has faith." He is known and loved as the "poor little brother" for his humility, the blessed St. Francis of Assis.
In 1212 the Order of the Little Brothers of St. Francis was founded. With his health broken, and almost blind, he composed his "Canticle to Brother Sun", the first Italian work written in the vernacular. It expresses his yearning for the infinite light of cosmic brother- hood, integrating all elements of the Creation .St. Francis is called the patron saint of the environment.
He died in 1226 and was canonized by Pope Gregory IX.